Isabel+Roe


 * SUMMARY: "Isabel," age 22, died in 1981 after an abortion.**

Abortion advocates often criticize prolife activists for not having ever-so-scientific sources, instead relying on lawsuits and news articles. Well, today I'll bring you a case from the Centers for Disease Control -- not exactly a hotbed of prolife activism. Life Dynamics calls this woman "Isabel" on their "Blackmun Wall," so I'll refer to her as "Isabel" as well.

The CDC Abortion Surveillance Annual Summary for 1981 describes the death of this 22-year-old mother of one. She was believed to be 12 weeks pregnant when she went to a doctor's office for an abortion.

The doctor told the CDC that Isabel was "uncooperative" during the abortion, so he recommended hospitalization to complete the procedure. Isabel and her mother requested that he medicate her further and try again. The doctor reported that Isabel "began to buck and began severe violent gyrating movements," so he suspected a perforation and suggested hospitalization. He said Isabel and her mother refused. He said that he monitored her for three hours, and that her vital signs were stable so he sent her home.

The doctor said he called repeatedly to check on Isabel and that her mother reported she was "comfortable, resting well, feeling fine." He said that she did not keep her follow up appointment.

Four days after the abortion, the doctor said, the mother called at 4AM, saying that Isabel was "not looking well." The doctor said he went to the home, found Isabel sitting up, lethargic but responsive. He summoned an ambulance. Isabel became unresponsive during the trip to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead on arrival.

According to the CDC, the death "was attributed to uterine perforation, intra-abdominal hemorrhage, and peritonitis." No autopsy was performed. The CDC attributed the death to the possiblity that Isabel was more than 12 weeks pregnant, the lack of cooperation of Isabel and her mother in refusing hospitalization, and the doctor continuing the procedure in his office despite the patient's lack of cooperation.

I would add that I personally am somewhat skeptical of the doctor's recall of events. If Isabel was "bucking and gyrating," and she and her mother requested more medication, might the doctor not have been providing adequate anesthesia? And if the anesthesia was inadequate, and if the pregnancy might well have been more advanced than 12 weeks, what other inadequacies might there have been in his care of the patient?

include component="tagCloud"